


In which Sam and Tony take care of a spider-ling

by CapnShellhead



Series: Sam/Tony: Domestic Avengers [5]
Category: Marvel 616
Genre: All-New All-Different Avengers Vol. 1 (2015), De-aged Miles Morales, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-04 05:37:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12764265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CapnShellhead/pseuds/CapnShellhead
Summary: An accident with some alien artifacts leaves Tony and Sam dealing with a situation they were completely unprepared for.





	In which Sam and Tony take care of a spider-ling

**Author's Note:**

> So, this kind of came out of nowhere. Hope you guys like it!

Sam had come home to some strange things before.

There was the time he came home to find Lunella sitting cross-legged on the ceiling. He’d nearly dropped the tray of coffees in his hand when he saw her. She just smiled and returned to working on her tablet.

There was the time he came home in time for the house to be transported to another dimension. He’d closed the door and set his shield down only for it to float past him moments later. He was so tired he just waited for Tony to float up to apologize.

There was the time he walked in to find Nadia had accidentally shrunk Sam Alexander down to the size of an ant. She apologized profusely but he suspects a tiny part of her wasn’t that sorry. She’d high-fived Kamala after all.

There was the time Thor brought home a host of elves for a tea party and arm wrestling competition. He’d been impressed until one of them wrecked the breakfast table in victory.

There was the time he walked home and Tony blew him in the entryway. He’d been extremely pleased until he saw that everything in the house was blue for some reason. He started to ask and Tony swallowed him down again.

All of this to say, he was used to walking in some strange things. Today took the cake.

He sets down his shield and shuffled through the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. He closes the fridge and takes a swig at the island, his mind racing with thoughts about everything he’d have to do that weekend. Miles broke the door to his room that week trying tricks with his webs. He’d accidentally launched himself face first into the wood panel and now it was in pieces in the garage. Kamala’s window kept getting stuck and Lunella had shattered the shower door “fixing” her sonic wave conductor. He should probably compile the grocery list. Jarvis always promised to take care of it but Sam hated leaving his work to the man. He was getting up there in years. He sets his bottle down and turns to face the island and -

“Whoa!” he shouts, eyes wide as he takes in the little boy sitting at the breakfast bar. He had dark skin, short coarse hair and he was eating cereal like he’d been here a while. Sam steps closer, confused. He wants to ask but he’s sure this wasn’t one of his kids. Tony would’ve mentioned a little boy and he couldn’t have been older than three years old.

The boy smiled, a milk mustache on his face as he said, “Hi!”

“Hi,” Sam says and comes over to get a better look at the kid. He looked familiar but Sam couldn’t put his finger on it. Sam stares at him for a while as the kid continues eating. By the looks of things, he was starving and Sam had so many questions. “How’d you get here, kiddo?”

The child shrugs and keeps eating. “Where is my husband?” Sam asks quietly. He can’t just leave the kid here so he picks him up. He waits for the kid to pick up his bowl and heads through the halls. Tony’s not in their room or the living room so he heads down the stairs to the lab.

He finds Tony standing in front of a pile of red clay rocks, a device in his hands. He starts to open the door but Tony turns around with a shout, “Don’t come any closer!”

“Tony,” he begins but Tony holds out a hand.

“Babe, I’m serious. I cannot screw this up again.” He seems to sense how harsh his voice sounds because then he’s apologizing and saying, “Sorry, three things: Hi, I love you, give me a minute.”

“Tony, I have a baby. There is a baby in my arms and I don’t know who he belongs to.” There’s a crunch as the kid continues eating cereal, unfazed.

Tony cringes, his eyes wide as he reached a hand out, “I can explain?”

 

Tony fucked up.

He royally fucked up this time. He took down a crook that stole several alien artifacts from a museum. He couldn’t get a hold of anyone at SWORD so he took them home thinking he could bring them in tomorrow. He went to get a sandwich and when he came back to the lab, he found a baby, about two years old sitting on the floor staring up at him curiously. He didn’t seem alarmed and was quite smiley when Tony came into view. Tony only realized what happened when he saw the red dust on the floor and the pile of black and red fabric the baby was sitting on.

“Miles?” he’d asked slowly, horrified. The little boy giggled and reached up for Tony.

“Up! Up!” he cheered as Sam Alexander came up behind him.

He took one look at Miles and said, “Oh, no way!” and took a few pictures on his phone before he complied and picked Miles up. They went upstairs and Tony followed, all the while thinking, this is bad. This is very, very bad.

Now that baby was sitting in Sam’s arms in the living room and shoving cereal in his mouth. Tony had questions, “Where’s Nova?”

“What?” Sam asked, feeling the kid nudge his arm until Sam filled his bowl with more cereal and handed it to him.

“I left the kid with him to eat breakfast while I tried to figure out the cure. He just left?”

Sam shrugged, getting nudged again until he handed the bowl over. The kid took it with a satisfied hum and continued shoveling cereal into his mouth. “Should we be worried about that?” Tony asked. “He’s been eating since I brought him up here.”

“Oh,” Sam says quietly. He looks down at the kid curiously. There was something about the incredibly natural way Sam held Miles that both warmed his heart and terrified him.

Miles rested against Sam’s stomach, rather unconcerned about his newfound smaller state and oh my god, “What are we going to say to his parents? Sam, this was my fault!”

“Tony, you don’t know that,” Sam said, running his large hand over Miles’ head. The kid went with it, giggling and continuing to shove food in his mouth.

“I left them in my lab where anyone could find them. I mean, god, how many times have I found Lunella with my tech?” He buried his face in his hands, his heart starting to race. There would be questions; he couldn’t send Miles home like this. “I should’ve-“

“Tony, look at me,” Sam says calmly and Tony does. Sam’s face is stern, a little offset by the toddler carelessly shoving froot loops in his mouth but it was Sam’s serious face nonetheless. “This was not your fault. It was an accident. Now come here.”

Tony crosses the carpet, his bare feet warm on the cold floor. God, it was a little chilly in here and Miles was draped in one of his shirts because he didn’t have any baby clothes. He should get him a blanket or some long socks at least. Was it too much to just buy him a few clothes while they dealt with this situation?

Sam looks up at him, calm with no trace of anger in his expression and Tony feels something in him twist unpleasantly. Sam would always look at him like that, no matter what he’d screwed up. No matter how many different times Tony had disappointed him. He would always look at Tony the way he had on their wedding day. The look that said, “I know exactly what the rest of my life looks like and I’m content.” It was a look Tony had been pleased to see but was never sure he’d earned.

And now Sam was holding a baby up to him. Tony’s eye went wide, his hands clammy. “What are you – what are you doing?”

“Take the baby so I can make him some proper food,” Sam says and starts to stand.

“Babe, I can’t – I can’t take him, I’ll drop him. Sam,” he insists as Sam moves Miles into Tony’s arms, shifting them into a more natural position but he still felt like a thirty pound unbalanced, squirmy ball of child. Tony tried to hold him closer to his chest but Miles grumbled and pushed back so he rested on Tony’s arm while he put food in his mouth. When he was situated, he looked up at Tony with wide brown eyes and resumed eating. He never stopped _eating_. Tony looks up at Sam to ask him about it once more but the soft look on Sam’s face gave him pause. His eyes were so fond, the tiniest quirk to his lips as he watched Miles and Tony just wants to leave. He wants to put the baby down and go downstairs where he was amongst his bots and his suits; where he was amongst the things he understood.

But Sam would need someone to keep an eye on the baby while he cooked and Tony sits down with a sigh.

 

Sam sets a bowl of mashed potatoes in front of Miles and he eats all of it faster than Sam and Tony can finish their food. He doesn’t ask for more and when Sam offers him some of his potatoes, Miles refuses. Tony’s pretty sure he’s already made a huge mistake. That many froot loops can’t be good for anyone, especially a child. Four hours and he’d already fucked up.

They sat down and Sam took to feeding Miles like it’d always been his job. He tucked a napkin into Tony’s oversized shirt and put the food in a plastic bowl with a plastic spoon. Miles was able to feed himself contently as Sam fixed himself and Tony a plate of food. He sat down next to Miles, moving as though he knew Tony wouldn’t offer to assist Miles with dinner. He was right; Tony hadn’t offered.

Tony pushed his food around his plate some before standing up. He acted as though he didn’t see the disappointment on Sam’s face as he said, “I’m gonna go downstairs, okay? I’m going to send some samples to Reed and see what I can find out. I’m – yeah, call me if you need me.”

 

“I’m sorry, Tony but I’ve seen these rocks before. They’re called gvartlhymersmiften,” Reed says with that haughty tone that said “You’d know that if you’d travelled the universe like I have”. Tony refrains from rolling his eyes as he rolls around the lab in his chair. He can see the security monitors out of the corner of his eye. Sam is walking through the halls with a giggly Miles in his arms, wrapped in a fluffy bath towel. Sam was grinning, happier than Tony had ever seen him as he raised Miles in the air and the kid beamed down at him.

Tony turns around, his throat tight. “Just tell me what to do, Reed.”

“There’s nothing you can do, I’m afraid. You just have to wait it out. From what you told me, he came into brief contact with one of them. It should wear off around a week or two. I’m sorry I can’t help you more,” he said with a sad smile and bid Tony farewell.

Tony sighs and rests his head in his hands. How was he going to explain this to Miles’ parents?

 

He comes upstairs to find Sam alone in their bedroom. He should ask. It’s just, part of Tony really wants to pretend Miles is going to walk through that door normal sized again and asking for a ride to whatever girl he was crushing on that month. But the soft smile on Sam’s face made it clear that wasn’t the case. “Where’s Mini Miles?”

Sam looks over as he pulls off his shoes. “I put him in Miles’ room with some pillows on either side.” Tony frowns and Sam explains, “So he doesn’t fall off the bed. I set FRIDAY to monitor him just in case he wakes up.”

Tony nods, processing everything as he takes off his shoes. “Good, good. I, uh, I told Miles’ family he was on a field trip with SWORD. Probably better than bringing Miles back to them noticeably smaller. I figured that was best.” He takes his watch off and sets it on the dresser.

He couldn’t fix this. For all the mistakes he’d made with these kids; making Sam feel like he wasn’t appreciated enough, making Lunella have to fight tooth and nail for his attention when he was caught up working with Riri on her armor, when he’d put too much pressure on Kamala and forgot she was just a kid, when Jan told him off for not suggesting Nadia see a therapist. For all his mistakes, he’d been able to at least remedy them in some way. He’d spent a day with Sam and a day with Lunella just focusing on their strengths and their interests. He’d forced Kamala to take a break and just be a teenager from time to time. He’d asked Dr. Samson to see Nadia, when she was ready. All of that, he could fix in some way but this… he’d seriously fucked up and now Miles was more vulnerable than ever.

Tony’s not sure how long he stands there in front of the dresser, his back to Sam. He can feel Sam’s eyes on him and knows he’s going to want to do something like _talk_ about it and Tony doesn’t want that. He wants to forget about this for a moment because he feels useless. Helpless.

Sam’s voice is soft, “Come here.” Tony feels his bottom lip tremble and bites down on it, tapping his finger on the wood while he gets himself together. “Baby,” Sam insists, his voice low.

And Tony could never resist that tone. He turns around, eyes downcast as he crosses the floor. Sam turns the lamp on and spreads his knees for Tony to stand before him. His eyes are open, honest as he puts his hands on Tony’s shoulders. “What’s going on in that big brain of yours?”

Tony looks at him, his chest tight as he answers, “I can’t fix this, Sam. I asked Reed and he thinks we just have to wait it out.” He drops his head. “He thinks it’ll be a week or two.”

“Tony, he’s safe. He’s going to be fine.”

“I did this, Sam,” he whispers and takes a shuddering breath. He doesn’t want to talk about this anymore. He steps back, letting Sam’s hands fall away.

Sam shakes his head slowly and asks, “You remember when Kamala broke her wrist fighting that dark elf in Midtown? That was my call. I told her to take civilian duty and didn’t realize there was more than one of those elves in the area. She got hurt on my watch and I couldn’t fix that.”

Tony cocks his head to the side, “It’s not the same thing.”

“You’re right, it’s not. Because I told her to do something and she got hurt. You didn’t tell Miles to come into your lab. He was probably just…” Sam stops, his eyes widening and sometimes Tony really hated how well Sam knew him. Especially on nights like tonight. Sam reached out to pull Tony in. He wraps his arms around Tony, his hand stroking Tony’s back as he shivered. He gives in after some time, his head resting on Sam’s shoulder as he ran his hand over Tony’s back.

“He just wanted to see me, Sam,” Tony whispered. “I’ve been so busy working on my suit and Riri’s suit and a utility belt for Kamala which she never even asked for but I made one because I worry about her getting lost in Jersey City with no phone or – or an emergency credit card. I just – I just,” he’s so tired he can’t get his words out.

“You worry,” Sam says with a soft laugh. “That’s okay.”

“I worry,” Tony agrees.

“What do you need?” Sam asks, pulling back to hold Tony’s waist. Tony thinks for a moment and then reaches for the hem of Sam’s shirt. He pulls it up and over Sam’s head and starts on his own.

“I just need a few hours where I don’t have to think, okay?” Sam nods and Tony can’t see any judgment in the way he smiles and starts taking off his pants. Sometimes Tony really loved how well Sam knew him.

 

The next day, Sam takes care of Miles while Tony goes out to get a few outfits for Miles and some toys. He buys some food because it couldn’t be healthy for the kid to keep eating so many froot loops. He buys a child sized bed and passes by the pajama section at the store. There’s a selection of little Avengers style onesies. There’s even a few in Miles and Sam’s colors and he can’t resist picking them up. There are little socks with Iron Man colors and he doesn’t know when he ever approved these. It’s fine; he’s not angry but… it gives him pause. The world out there seemed to like him again and he’s sure some alien war would come along and put him out of favor soon enough. He was used to it but he can’t fathom the idea of some mom on the street putting her child in an Iron Man onesie.

He leaves the store with the socks anyway. They looked warm.

He comes home to find Sam asleep on the couch with Miles conked out on his chest. He was drooling, his cheek smushed against Sam’s chest. Tony feels a fondness he’d never known settle in his chest and he pushes it down. Puts the food away and sets the bags of clothes in Miles’ room. He returns to his lab and doesn’t come up until Sam and Miles have gone to bed.

 

He spends the next day doing more of the same.

He watches from the monitors as Sam makes Miles breakfast, Stevie Wonder playing loud over the speakers in the kitchen. Tony kept a watchful eye in between running simulations on upgrades to Sam’s suit. He spins around at one point and nearly spits out his green juice because Sam was dancing! He was dancing! Tony can’t remember the last time he saw Sam’s hips swaying as he moves around the kitchen, a bright smile on his face. Tony turns the sound back on and he can hear Miles giggling, reaching up for Sam to hold him as he moved.

They looked happy. They looked like a family.

Tony turns the volume down again and loses himself in work.

 

The next day is more of the same.

There’s a point when Tony’s doing push ups and he hears Miles’ voice call out, “Tony?” questioningly and Tony sits up on his knees. Sam is walking Miles through the living room and showing Miles the photos on the walls. Kamala’s excited selfies with Carol, Jan and Wolverine. Lunella’s science fairs, Riri’s knowing smiles, Sam’s proud smirks, Miles and Ganke’s homecoming photos. They get to one of Tony and Sam on their wedding day and Miles asks, “Tony?” and points to the hallway. Tony doesn’t hear what Sam says but Miles doesn’t ask for him after that.

 

The next day is more of the same.

He’s working on stingers for Nadia and doesn’t come up that night. He watches Sam play blocks with Miles and fall asleep watching Moana. It’s too late for him to risk waking Sam and Miles up.

 

The next day is more of the same until Sam comes downstairs, his face stormy. He takes one look at Tony’s unwashed hair, his rumpled hoodie and sweats and turns around. “Get your ass upstairs,” he says and starts his way up.

Tony knows he could stay down here. He could lock the lab down and wait the next few weeks out but he’d only seen that look on Sam’s face once when a joint plan with Maria Hill nearly got Tony killed.

On top of that, Tony missed his husband.

He heads up the stairs, a nervous quelling in his stomach.

It could be angry sex. Never hate sex; Sam made that clear the first time they argued on their honeymoon and Sam ended up pounding him into the mattress. It was angry sex where Sam held him tight afterwards and grumbled, “You’re stuck with me now. Remember that,” and Tony forgot why they’d fought in the first place.

It could be angry sex but Tony knows what he smells like. He knows what he looks like because FRIDAY kept making little comments and he had a few mirrors in the lab. There was no way Sam wanted to kiss him when he was in this state.

He comes upstairs to their bedroom to see Sam sitting on their bed. He closes the door behind them, trying to think of something to head off the fury on Sam’s face. “Miles is…?”

“Kamala’s watching him,” Sam says quickly, his arms crossed. He juts his chin out towards the bathroom. “Get cleaned up.”

“Sam,” Tony starts but Sam’s already dismissed him, lowering his head.

“Go. You stink.”

 

After Tony’s shower, he comes out, towel around his waist as he shuffles over to their dresser. Sam was sitting on the edge of the bed, his arms still crossed and yes, he was still really angry. Tony winces as he gets dressed, his back to Sam. He felt better; a lot better actually. He was clean, his hair wet and dripping into the neck of Sam’s shirt. He really didn’t have any clean clothes.

He pulls his pants on slowly, trying to delay the inevitable. Finally, he runs the towel over his head and turns around, his heart starting to beat faster. Sam just watches him, arms crossed, eyes stern. It makes Tony squirm and eventually, he’s opening his mouth, “Sam-“

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Sam asks, his voice quiet.

“Excuse me?”

“Where have you been?” He waits but when Tony doesn’t answer, he adds, “That kid asks for you. Everyday. He wakes up and before I pick him up, he asks for you. When we play, he asks for you. When I put him to bed, he asks for you. I waited, thinking you just needed time to adjust but then you stopped coming upstairs at all. What is this? Is it – do you feel so guilty that you can’t even look at him?”

Tony froze, his heart twisting as he tries to remember a time he heard Miles calling for him. Other than that day Sam showed him photos, he can’t recall. “Everyday?” he asks softly and Sam’s eyes soften a little.

He’s looking at Tony like he’s at his wits end and honestly, it scares Tony a little. He doesn’t think he’s even seen Sam look so lost. “Baby, you’ve gotta tell me what’s going on. I don’t know how to help you.”

His words only make Tony feel worse and he’s moving forward to wrap his arms around Sam’s shoulders. He hugs Sam and pulls his face into his stomach, his thumb stroking the back of Sam’s neck. “None of this is your fault. It’s all me.”

Sam pulls back to eye him shrewdly, “You watch us on the monitors. I know because you came up one night and asked me if Miles liked his Cap onesie.” Tony lowered his head and Sam pets his stomach softly. “I can’t do this alone. I’ve been doing my best because I know you have hang ups about this whole thing but you’re shutting down. You’re not eating, I don’t know if you’re getting any sleep and I can’t ask for help when you’re not even taking care of yourself.”

Tony thought Miles would be better off with Sam but he’d never thought Sam might have needed him. From the looks of things, he had everything well in hand but seeing him now…. Tony runs his thumb over the shadows under Sam’s eyes. This wasn’t how they operated. He was the one that never asked for help. “I’ll step up. I promise.”

“I’d rather you tell me what’s going on,” Sam says lightly and Tony tenses. “I don’t ask you about this stuff because you never talk about it. I gotta figure it’s pretty bad. Maybe that’s my fault and I should’ve asked a long time ago but… baby, I really thought you’d tell me.”

He’s looking at Tony with such concern and a weird part of him just wants to make it go away. He hated it when Sam worried and he hated it when he was the cause of that worry. He’s reminded of the time he’d fallen asleep beside Carol and confided in her that sometimes he thought the worst thing he’d ever done was agree to marry Sam. The man was nothing less than kind and supportive of Tony but Tony had no clue what Sam saw in him. He’d woken up the next day and made her promise never to mention it but the words were out there. They weren’t any less true now that he’d said them out loud.

Tony wants to smile and tell Sam it’s nothing but Sam would know he was lying. The words come out in a rush, “I’ll tell you. One day.” He pulls Sam’s face into his stomach again, feels Sam breathe out hot against him. “In the meantime, I’ll do better, okay?”

 

The next morning, Tony wakes to a small weight on his chest. He doesn’t think anything of it and assumes its Sam’s arm or his head. Then he feels a small, slightly clammy palm on his cheek and his eyes open confusedly. Then the palm comes down rather hard to slap his cheek and he sits up rather quickly. So quickly that Miles falls back a little on Tony’s legs, struggling to get up again. Tony worries that he’d hurt him but then Miles is sitting up and beaming at him.

“Tony!” he shouts and Tony can’t help the grin that spreads over his face.

“What are you doing, spider-ling?” he asks and Miles points at Sam’s slumbering form. “Sam?” He’s wondering how the kid escaped his room.

“Up,” Miles says and this lack of vocabulary thing was really not going to work.

“Wake him up?” Tony asked and the kid nods eagerly, his brown eyes wide and expectant. “I don’t know, kiddo. He’s pretty tired. Let him get some sleep.”

“Up,” Miles says with a whine. “Hungy,” Miles adds and Tony sighs. Step up, he thinks. I promised.

“I can make you some food, kiddo,” he says. “I can manage that, right?” he asks and Miles just stares at him. He climbs out of bed and starts towards the door, remembering to pick up the kid only after he hears Miles start singing to himself. He comes back over and picks him up, trying to remember how Sam had positioned his arms. Miles is not helpful, squirming and trying to climb over Tony’s head with a giggle. It takes a moment for Tony to get him situated and only because he says, “Food?”

They make it down the stairs and Tony’s unsure about what to do next. He needs to make food. He’s seen Sam fix the kid oatmeal a few mornings and he can manage that. Except, he can’t hold the kid and man the stove so he needs to set the kid down. He sees the high chair in the corner of the living room and pulls it over. He sets Miles in it and the kid stares at him expectantly.

“I’m on it, kid,” Tony says and Miles just grins at him.

“Tony?” he asks cheerfully and Tony feels his heart warm.

He places his hand on his chest and nods, “Tony.” Miles beams and it makes Tony feel a bit odd. It wasn’t very often he met someone who seemed to love him just for existing. And by very often, he means never. He’s only ever had people appreciate him because he was rich, or attractive, or Iron Man or intelligent. Miles, at least baby Miles seemed to love him just because he was here. And possibly because he’d promised food.

Except Sam said he asked for me everyday, his mind supplies. Must’ve been some remnant of his last thoughts before he was turned, he thinks.

He starts the oatmeal and paces the kitchen while it’s cooking. Miles seems content to blow spit bubbles and pop them with his fingers. “Little genius in the making,” he murmurs and Miles looks at him curiously. Tony comes over and stands before him, taking his little hand when he holds it out. “Nice to meet you, mini Miles. You’re not as loud as the other children your age.”

Miles cocks his head to the side. “Miles?”

“Miles,” Tony says and nudges Miles’ cheek a little with his knuckles, grinning when the dimple in Miles’ cheek deepens. He was one damn cute kid. “You’re very monosyllabic. It’s cool, I can dig it.”

Miles smiled, seemingly able to tell Tony was complimenting him. “In some ways this is one of the better conversations I’ve had in my lifetime.” He smells maple syrup and moves over to turn the oatmeal off. He pours some in a bowl for Miles and there’s so much left that he makes a bowl for himself. He sets it down in front of Miles with a spoon and just as Miles is about to spoon some into his mouth, Tony snatches it back.

“Hold on, buddy,” he says and scoops some out. It burns the roof of his mouth and he whines. “Ah, sorry. That’s still really hot. Yikes.”

“Yikes,” Miles repeats. “Yikes, yikes, yikes.”

Tony laughs, setting the bowls aside for them to cool. “You’re alright, kiddo.”

When they’re cool enough, he sets Miles’ bowl back in front of him. He watches him take a bite, nervous. Miles’ mouth closes around it, he chews for a little, his brow furrowed before he’s humming excitedly and spooning more into his mouth. Tony smiles, relieved to have passed the first test. He pulls his own bowl over and starts eating.

Sam comes down by the time they’re nearly finished, running a tired hand over his face. He stops in front of the stove and peeks into the pot. “You made breakfast?” He shuffles over to press a kiss to Tony’s cheek.

“I made breakfast.” He picks up Miles’ bowl and sets it in the sink. Sam takes Tony’s bowl and puts some oatmeal in it, stealing Tony’s spoon as well. He comes back behind Tony and leans against the counter, resting his head on Tony’s shoulder as he ate.

“Pretty good,” he says after the first bite. It warms Tony’s heart to see Miles and Sam happy with something he’d made. Tony turns to watch him run his tongue over the spoon, his eyes warm. “You got the two year old seal of approval. Not that easy to get.”

“I’m honored,” Tony says with a smile.

 

The day passes with Tony helping Sam with Miles.

They play with him on the floor in the living room for a while. True to Sam’s words, Miles was ecstatic to have him around. He liked climbing all over Tony’s shoulders, standing in Tony’s lap and pressing little slobbery kisses to Tony’s cheek. He especially liked sitting in his lap and butting his head into Tony’s chest. He did this for a little while before he fell asleep on Tony, his heart beating fast against Tony’s chest. When he became aware that Miles had fallen asleep, Tony looked to Sam in disbelief.

Sam just shrugged and set about picking up the toys. “He likes you.” He sets them in the small bin they’d bought after a week with baby Miles. He moves past to grab Miles’ stuffed Hulk doll. He taps Tony’s cheek with it as he passes. “Don’t overthink it.”

 

Tony put Miles to bed that night and watches him turn over and settle against the pillows. He was adorable, his little nose scrunched up as he tried to get comfortable. He was so small and breakable but he climbed anything and everything. He was pleased just to be in the same room as Tony and he ate almost as much as he did when he was a teenager. He was smart and cheerful and seemed pretty content as long as he’d managed to grab all of Tony’s time and attention. He was demanding and a handful and yet Tony was falling more in love with his time taking care of this kid.

This was temporary. He tells himself that as he leans against the doorjamb and watches Miles sleep.

Sam comes up behind him after some time, his arms warm as they fold Tony in. He rests his cheek against Tony’s before he kisses him and says, “Baby, come to bed.”

 

The next day Sam makes pancakes while Tony sits with Miles at the table. Miles was content with the apple slices Tony made him while Sam prepared the ingredients. Every now and then, Miles would pass Tony some of his food with a friendly smile and every time that warmth in Tony’s chest would get worse.

“Sam!” Miles shouts and Sam turns to salute him with the spatula. Tony smiles, chin in hand. The dad look was a good look on Sam, he thinks.

“Sam’s the best,” Tony whispers, nudging Miles’ cheek with his forehead, making him giggle. “We’re lucky to have him. He cooks, he’s pretty to look at and he’s smart. Why he settled for me, I’ll never know.”

Miles is nodding seriously like he understands what Tony’s saying and it makes him smile. He places a kiss to the top of Miles’ head and rests his cheek there. Sam’s watching him now, an odd smile on his face before he returns to the skillet to flip his pancake. He sets a plate in front of Miles and Tony. Miles can’t quite get a hold of the fork and ends up picking up his food with his hands which means Tony gets covered in syrup whenever he gets enthusiastic about his food and palms Tony’s cheek.

He toughs it out and the sticky, syrupy kisses when he takes Miles upstairs to wash up. He feels Sam’s eyes follow him up.

 

The next night, they fall asleep watching Moana for the sixth time. Miles’ eyes lit up every time the cover art showed up on Netflix and Tony didn’t have the heart to scroll past it. Sam props Miles up on a pillow and falls asleep after the first song, exhausted.

Tony took the lead today while Sam went out as Cap. It meant a few panicked moments when Miles bumped his head against the coffee table and started crying. One of the worst moments of his life was picking him up, hearing him scream in Tony’s ear and hear his little hiccupping breaths as he cried. He didn’t know what to do so after he checked him over, Tony paced the room, rubbing his back and waiting for him to calm. It was one of the longest moments of his life and afterwards, Miles buried his wet face in Tony’s neck and just laid there.

He made them lunch and ran around playing Thor. It wasn’t real game except he tied one of Nadia’s scarves around Miles’ neck as a cape and held Miles up like he was flying. When he came down, Tony realized they’d been at this for over an hour but it didn’t matter because Miles was beaming up at him like this was the happiest he’d ever been and it made Tony feel content.

He gave Miles a bath, too. Sitting next to the tub running water over Miles’ head to wash out the shampoo as he splashed around and made a bubble bath. Tony had never done this before and he was so focused on not getting soap in Miles’ eyes that he didn’t notice Miles’ soapy hand reaching up to get suds on Tony’s face. He made a little bubble beard for Tony, his brow furrowed as he worked. Tony laughed, made a similar one for Miles and then they’d just stared at each other and cracked up. 

Now, Miles is wide-eyed and watching Maui try to kick Moana off the boat. He seems content to watch this movie forever and it’s the first Tony’s seeing it. It’s pretty good, he likes the music. He’s half asleep because Miles woke up just as Tony was about to settle in for a nap. He wants to sleep but he’d read about the dangers of rolling over on top of a baby.

He’s watching Moana sing about the spirits of her ancestors when he hears soft snores. He looks over to see Miles sleeping, his head pressed against Sam’s arm. Tony can’t resist stealing his phone to take a snapshot. Just one. It comes out perfectly with Sam and Miles’ mouths wide open. He grins as he sets his phone back down and when he turns back, Sam’s awake.

He sits up with a yawn. “I’ll take him to his room,” he starts to get up but Tony waves him off.

“I got it, babe. Don’t worry.” He climbs off and picks Miles up carefully, resting his head on his shoulder. He’s unsure when he started rubbing his back soothingly, only noticing after Sam smiles at him. “What?”

“You’re good with him,” Sam says, rolling over into his pillows.

 

Tony wakes up the next day to silence. He’s pretty sure that means Sam took over breakfast while he was sleeping and he shuffles through his morning routine wondering what Sam cooked his morning.

He goes downstairs, thinking about what he’d do with Miles for the day when he hears the crunch of cereal. Teenage Miles is sitting at the island and flicking through his phone. Upon hearing Tony, he turns towards him with a pained wince. “Exactly how much trouble am I in?” he asks and Tony can’t help but come forward and pull the teenager into a hug.

He cups the back of Miles’ head and squeezes him tight. “Thank god you’re okay.” Miles’ arms come up to hug him back, a little stronger than he usually did. It seemed he was adjusting to his strength all over again. Tony pulls back and grins at him. “Don’t get me wrong, little you was a real hoot but I like you with less drool. How much do you remember?”

Miles shrugs sheepishly, clearly a little embarrassed. “All of it? It’s a little hazy,” he says and Tony flushes a little.

“I’m so sorry, Miles. I shouldn’t have left the stones in my lab.”

Miles’ eyes widen in disbelief. “No way, I shouldn’t have touched them. I was looking for you and I’d never seen anything like them before. I wasn’t thinking.”

Tony nods absently, lowering his head as he says, “Yeah, about that.” It takes some time before he can bring himself to meet Miles’ eyes. “I’m sorry I haven’t been spending as much time with you as I should have.”

Miles stares at him and chews on his lip, he lowers his head as he speaks, “When I was just starting out you, well the other you, helped me a lot. Captain America, the one from my world, thought I was too young but you, this other you, he trusted me. He saw something in me that made me feel like I could do this and I never forgot that. When I came here and I met you… I was looking for that guy. You’re not him; you’re different and that’s great, too. I’ve learned so much from you here and I’m glad I met you. You and Sam, you’re like my second family. I come here not because the house is nice and it always has food but because you guys make me feel safe. That’s what I remember the most from this past week. You guys made me feel safe. I know you don’t always know how to talk to us but I wanted to tell you that.”

Tony’s speechless, his eyes feel warm and he’s a little afraid he’s going to cry when Miles pulls him into a hug. Tony laughs, hugging Miles in return. “Thank you, kiddo.” Miles tenses briefly before he hugs Tony tighter.

When he pulls back he looks up at Tony curiously, “You guys ever consider adopting?

“I’m sure your family misses you, kid.”

“You know what I mean,” Miles says, rolling his eyes. Sappy moment over.

Tony sighs and shakes his head. “I have seven kids, Miles. I don’t have time for another one.”

 

That night was spent boxing up the baby clothes and toys. He comes across the Iron Man socks and his breath catches. He peeks at Sam to see if he noticed before he takes them in hand. He runs his thumb over the soft cotton, trying to remember if he ever saw Miles in them. He feels Sam come up behind him, his voice low, “He loved those. The only pair he didn’t immediately take off.”

Tony laughs, remembering how Miles was perpetually running around with one sock on. He would probably be finding socks all over the house for weeks. His chest clenches and he makes himself drop the socks in the box. He runs the tape gun over it, sealing it shut. “I’ll send them to be donated tomorrow.”

Sam freezes, taping his own box shut and then sitting on top of it. The room seemed so empty and Tony’s not sure why. There was still Miles’ full size bed, his dresser and the gaming system he left here. There was a black hoodie on the desk chair and an abandoned cell phone charger on the desk. It was lived in but it felt bare now that they’d boxed everything up.

Sam clasped his hands together between his knees, gathering his words. “Baby, can you sit down for a minute?” he asks and Tony can’t say ‘no’ to that tone. He sits down on the edge of Miles’ bed and waits. “It doesn’t have to be forever? We don’t have to give all of this away.”

“Sam, I highly doubt one of those kids will get deaged again.”

“You know what I mean,” he says calmly and it makes something inside of Tony snap.

“We talked about this,” he says rather crossly and he hates the ways Sam’s mouth falls open but he can’t make himself lower his voice. “When you married me, hell, before you married me, we talked about this. I told you I don’t want kids.”

“Tony, that’s not what you said. You said you weren’t sure,” Sam says. He spreads his arms out in supplication. “To me, that means you weren’t sure.”

Tony throws his hands up and shakes his head. “Why are we talking about this at all? It’s been years and you choose now to-“

“You know damn well why we’re talking about this now,” Sam says, his eyes narrowed.

“Yeah, Sam, I know. I meant that I don’t know why you’re bothering to bring this up. You had to drag me upstairs because I had a complete meltdown.” Sam’s eyes widen and Tony forgets how much Sam knew of his time in the lab. “I couldn’t make myself come see that kid because Miles was better off without me. I don’t know how to take care of a kid.”

“Just be there,” Sam says and Tony cuts him off.

“I couldn’t do that for Miles and he’s not even mine,” he snaps and Sam mouth clicks shut, his hands falling to his knees. “Maybe you made the wrong choice when you took me on. You had a good father before you lost him. Mine was… I won’t put a kid through that. It’s one way I can be better than my dad,” he finishes lowly.

Sam’s mouth is tight as he stares at Tony. “Are you done?”

It sends a chill down Tony’s spine and he examines Sam more closely. His eyes are hard, shoulders tense as he waits. Tony nods eventually, too surprised to say anything.

“Don’t ever tell me I made the wrong choice. I married you because my life is better with you in it. Those kids down there come here because their lives are better with you in it. If you think you’re doing some kid a favor by not being a part of their life, you’re wrong,” he says and Tony’s hands start to shake, his eyes welling up. Sam’s not finished, “I don’t know what happened to you to make you so sure you’re some kind of burden. It really messed with your head and I can’t fix that but I’m trying. I’m doing everything I can. I know you have hang ups. I have them, too. We have seven kids and we work jobs that don’t give us times for ourselves, let alone a baby.”

Tony swallows, his eyes spilling over as he asks, “Then why are you bringing this up?”

Sam stands, sighing heavily. He sets the tape gun down on top of the box and taps it lightly. “This was one way our future could have gone. I just wanted to make sure you’re sure.”

He leaves Tony alone in the quiet room.

 

When Tony lies down in bed a few hours later, Sam takes in a breath and rolls over. His eyes open and he whispers, “I’m sorry.” Tony shakes his head dismissively and Sam adds, “C’mere.”

Tony moves in, rests his head on Sam’s chest. His heartbeat is steady and sure; no wonder Miles felt comforted here. He thinks back to Miles asleep between them; the sound of his snores, the smell of baby shampoo in his hair, the feel of his little hands on Tony’s face.

Then he thinks about the sickening twist in his stomach when he discovered Miles in his lab. The pained knot in his throat when Miles bumped his head. The way he watched Sam move so effortlessly with the baby and the voice in his head telling him he’d done enough damage already. The voice that sounded suspiciously like Howard’s telling him no kid deserved a recovering alcoholic for a parent. The voice that said Sam deserved a child and he’d married someone who could never give him that.

“Sam?” he whispers, waiting until Sam runs a hand down his back with a hum to show he’s listening. “I can’t give you kids.”

He thinks Sam will freeze, he’s half afraid he’ll leave the room but Sam’s hand keeps stroking his back, his voice warm. “I know, baby. That’s okay.”

A pause. “I want to. I’m not there yet. I don’t know if I’ll ever be there.”

Sam freezes and then he’s pulling Tony up for a soft kiss, his eyes soft and fond as he holds Tony’s attention. “That’s okay, too.”


End file.
